It's a bird, it's a plane! No, it's The Fly!

Ah the Fly, truly a masterpiece of a movie. With its suspense driven action, even today it manages to scare and disgust the audience with its gruesome depiction of the consequences of the misuse of science. For the time, it could be considered to be quite a progressive film. Taking place during the late 1950’s during the Cold War between Russia and the United States, it brings to light the rather reckless and headstrong approach many scientists of the time took to searching for the next big scientific breakthrough. Risks are taken and hardly heeded, for it was a time of great scientific progression, with the technological and arms race being fought by the world’s two great superpowers at the time, everyone was always looking forward to having the best that science could offer.

The question then lies for the film, “To what extent would one be willing to go in the pursuit of scientific advancement?” Added to that would be, how much was one willing to pay for the price of progression. These two dilemmas are the constant theme of the Fly and it could not have pulled it off better. The two sides of the argument, represented by the wife’s conservative nature and the husband’s passionate drive for truth and advancement, present a representative for the each of the many sectors of the population who hold the same belief. In essence, it is very akin to that of a medieval morality play, with each character signifying a particular trait or idea that a certain sector of people have. Of course, one cannot forget the signature character of the movie, the titular Fly itself whose unseen interaction caused the grand scheme of the movie’s conflict. The fly itself can be seen to represent the unforeseen circumstances that often are disregarded by those in the pursuit of scientific knowledge due to their diehard passion. Sometimes, the film seems to point out, there are variables in science that cannot be controlled.

All in all, it is an incredibly entertaining film and a testament of its value can be seen in how even today those who watch it still scream in disgust as they witness the transformation of man’s actions in blind, impulsive pursuit of the truth. It is completely unreal, but despite all the little noticeable gripes that may come with it, it makes up for it in its sheer charm of character and amazing presentation. Those in pursuit of knowledge better take yield and learn a lesson or two as the consequences of one’s actions, no matter how noble they may be, may just come back to bite them.